How Do I Know When To Get New Tires?

[steph08]

I have a set of summer tires and a set of winter tires. I live in Pennsylvania and drive a fair distance for work, and everything else, so I need winter tires to get around as well. I just don't think all-weather tires perform as well in snowy conditions as do specific winter tires. I think most tires last about 30k miles, or just take a peek at the tread and see how worn down it is. It also depends on your driving habits, the types of roads you drive on, etc.

I usually change mine in May and November.

[yogiii]

I live in New England and have a set of regular and a set of snow tires. I also usually change around Nov and May. If you rotate when you switch out, you will extend the life of each. Each set of mine can usually go 50-60k miles. The summer/all seasons that you use for the summer months can especially go longer since you don't need the tread to be that great given that you have snow tires.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I live in Wisconsin and I have 1 set of tires all year round. I'll be getting new tires and brakes before this winter though, because my mechanic said I'm in the hazy "if you feel comfortable driving on them, do so. But if you feel like you're sliding around and uncomfortable driving on them, replace them" zone. I'm fine on driving on them now but I'm not risking sliding on slippery roads with the kids. So they get replaced this fall. But a. I have a really good, reliable mechanic and b. I do mainly short distance city driving.

[brdsl]

There are tires that are aggressive enough for winter (most places), and do not provide a road noise.

Is it an AWD or just FWD?

[illinicheme]

Most tires have a wear indicator on them. Trustworthy repair shops will also be able to tell you how much tread you have left. Regular rotation (every ~5,000 miles) will help extend the life of the tires.

As for winter versus all-season tires, I've always gotten by just fine with all-season tires, but I've always had a FWD vehicle. I also no longer live somewhere with snowy/icy winters. When we lived in New Jersey, DH had a set of winter tires for his Miata because it's RWD and the tires made a big difference in winter handling. He bought them mounted on rims so that he just needed to switch the wheels instead of having to have tires taken off and remounted on his existing rims twice a year.

I've had good luck with both Costco and Tirerack.com in terms of getting good prices on replacing tires.

[yogiii]

Jun 2, 2011 10:15:33 GMT -5 @illinicheme said:

He bought them mounted on rims so that he just needed to switch the wheels instead of having to have tires taken off and remounted on his existing rims twice a year.

You definitely don't want to take the tires off and on rims, that isn't good for them (also it would be a huge hassle)

[RoadToRiches]

Don't ride on those snow tires if you don't have to. What I do is I have set of winter tires on older rims, and then summer tires on summer rims lol...I changed them as seasons go.

Only thing that sucks is that my summer rims are staggered so I can't rotate those tires.

[Deleted]

Huh? I thought getting tires just for winter and just for summer went out with gas lights. We lived in the Upper Peninsula in an area where the average seasonal snowfall (October 1 to May 1) was between 200-250" and had all-weather tires on our car. Snow storms and blizzards were frequent, like two or three a month, dumping as little as 10-12" to as much as 36". We got around just fine as did everybody else.

[wodehouse]

BTW, tires can deteriorate from 'dry rot' as well. I have probably replaced more tires due to 'rot' than due to tread wear. If the tire is more than 5 years old I would keep on eye on *both* sidewalls (even the hidden side) for cracks and rot.

[phil5185]

Huh? I thought getting tires just for winter and just for summer went out with gas lights.

I was having that same thought - we had snow tires in the 1950s, started using all-weathers in about the 1960s. And FWD & ABS helped with both the starting/stopping. Now we've had AWD for the last 15 yrs - so we can go right past those "pull over and chain up here" signs in the mountains.

[busymom]

The problem for those of us who live in the part of the country with 4 seasons, is that cars sold by dealers are equipped with "performance tires", which aren't real good in snow. I too own a set of "winter" tires for my car. I don't like sliding around when I'm hauling the kids around town.

[Opti]

Plus some of us hate the performance of all weather tires but that's another thread.

[tskeeter]

When do I need to replace my tires? Current recommendations are to replace tires when the tread depth gets down to 4/32 of an inch. The easy way to measure 4/32 is to use a quarter. If you insert George into a groove in the tread head first, part of George's hair line should be obscured by the tread. If you can see all of George's hair line, its time to replace the tires.

The deeper the tread, and the wider the grooves in the tread, the better your traction is in snow and heavy rain. The big, deep grooves give the snow or rain someplace to go as you drive over it. That's why the grooves, etc. on snow tires are so much bigger than all season tires.

I live in the snowy Sierra mountains, where snow falls of more than a foot are common. Our minivan has all season tires on it year around. If its getting toward winter, and the tires are getting worn, I'll replace them. Even if they pass the quarter test. This does fine for around town. I also keep a set of tire chains in the minivan. Not so much because they are needed to get around, but because in the mountains, the DOT sets up chain up stops when it is snowing. If you don't have 4WD or AWD, its no chains, no go. I think this requirement is silly (like MissRigby, I grew up driving on snow, so several inches is no problem) but I realize that it is a safety issue with large numbers of CA drivers who aren't used to snow and ice. But once those folks are parked in the ditch, it sure makes driving in the snow more convenient.

[phil5185]

I think this requirement is silly (like MissRigby, I grew up driving on snow, so several inches is no problem) but I realize that it is a safety issue with large numbers of CA drivers who aren't used to snow and ice.

On the North Iowa farm where I grew up, we put 2-100 pound sacks of hog feed in the car truck and left them until Spring - makes quite a difference on the farm-to-market roads.

[TD2K]

I got a set of winter tires a couple of years ago when we had several snow falls and my all-seasons did not cut it. I have mine mounted on a set of wheels so it's just remove the old ones and put on the new ones.

The winter tires are Blizzacks and there is a huge improvement in snow but dry pavement, they don't handle nearly as well as my Nittos (not surprising). There are always trade-offs in tire design between summer and winter traction, wearability, ride, noise, etc. Ultra-high performance summer tires for example can get downright scary when it gets down to the freezing temperature as the tire compounds get very hard and grip can go to what seems like nearly nothing.

I can see it: 3 sets of tires: summer, all-season performance for spring and fall and winter for well, winter. I think not.

[qofcc]

If you're going with snow tires, definitely get rims for them. You should be able to get used rims fairly cheap. Some vehicles really do work much better with snow tires on roads that are not well maintained. I think it depends on the center of gravity of the car and the rims. My ford T-bird had much better traction in a normal amount of snow and ice on rural roads than my Toyota 4-runner. The 4-runner was better in mud and could clear deeper snow, but it slipped around a lot. Another thing you can do is get the widest tires with the best tread that will fit on your vehicle even if it means changing out the rims. If you go to a tire store with a big selection, they should be able to show you every single option that will fit on your car.

[brdsl]

Jun 3, 2011 7:26:30 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

I thought "all weather" were going to be the answer, but they are not if you live in an area with snow and hills and not so great road care. So, i have skidded and slid with all weathers and even had to back down off of small hills that i could not go up due to not being able to get traction . With the Blizzaks i had no problems getting around even really bad conditions. And, I have FWD, not AWD. So, i need to get tires and what should i get for summer/fall and then i will have to get a new set of snow tires as well. I have thought of getting rims for them and it would be easier and cheaper to change them in and out as well but that would be an expense.

If you go with the extra set of wheels, see if they have a steel wheel set, go to a junkyard and get them. You can also simply change out the two front tires for the winter.

You can get a cross tread pattern that will probably do just fine in the winter and summer. It is a little more aggressive than an all season tire, and should only start making noise when they are getting worn out. I had a friend show me records of him getting 70k out of an aggressive tread tire....I was impressed.

[yogiii]

If you go to tirerack dot com, you can put in your vehicle type and get some prices on tires. Then you can order from there or go to a local place and find that specific tire. I'd get the cheapest all season that you can find for the "summer" and then I'd get a cheap/middle of the road snow tire for the winter. Definitely get some cheapo steel wheels for your winter set.

I drive 70 miles round trip to work and I can't tell you how much safer I feel with snow tires. It is a noticeable difference here in New England and I have a small, FWD car. I drove around for 4 years without them, I don't know what I was thinking.

[qofcc]

Or just get a top of the line all season. I wonder if the all season ones you had before were not very good. It would be a good idea to look at the higher quality all season compared to the bottom of the line snow tires.

[yogiii]

In my experience, the top of the line all seasons don't compare to even the cheapo snow tires. You can see it just comparing the tread. However, it depends on the roads. A lot of hills in New England.

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2011 9:00:22 GMT -5 yogiii said:

In my experience, the top of the line all seasons don't compare to even the cheapo snow tires. You can see it just comparing the tread. However, it depends on the roads. A lot of hills in New England.

I agree 100%. All season tires will work in the winter, but snow tires are so much better. I would have two sets for all three of our vehicles if I could afford it.

[zippy478]

Jun 2, 2011 18:40:34 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

When do I need to replace my tires? Current recommendations are to replace tires when the tread depth gets down to 4/32 of an inch. The easy way to measure 4/32 is to use a quarter. If you insert George into a groove in the tread head first, part of George's hair line should be obscured by the tread. If you can see all of George's hair line, its time to replace the tires.

Thanks for posting this tip. I was wondering the same thing about my tires and this will help me assess it.

[Opti]

Another thing you can do is get the widest tires with the best tread that will fit on your vehicle even if it means changing out the rims. If you go to a tire store with a big selection, they should be able to show you every single option that will fit on your car.

Wide tires help with traction in summer, thinner tires help cut through snow in winter as it has less to push against. Tirerack.com has comparison tests on tires so it can be useful to read them to understand performance differences of different tires and different tire types.

[tskeeter]

Another thing you can do is get the widest tires with the best tread that will fit on your vehicle even if it means changing out the rims.

My experience with winter driving ( lived in far northern Minnesota, Buffalo, NY, Lake Tahoe area for several years each) is that wide tires are not the answer. Driving in snow is a little like cutting bread. A narrow tire is like cutting bread with a knife. The tire cuts through the snow to the pavement or gravel underneath. A wide tire is like cutting bread with a 2X4. The 2X4 flattens the bread, but it doesn't cut the bread effectively. A wide tire rides over the snow and packs it down, rather than cutting through the snow. (If tire width was the answer, drag slicks would be the ultimate snow tires, right?)

One of the best snow cars I've driven? Plymouth Valiant (narrow tires). The worst snow car? Mazda RX-7 (wide tires, about three times the width of the Valiant tires).

Tire traction is a function of the amount of pressure the tire exerts on the road. A car using narrow tires exerts more pounds per square inch where the tire meets the road than the same car with wide tires. Wide tires improve traction only in situations where there isn't any interference, such as snow or rain, between the tire and the road. (That's why drag racing in the rain gets really exciting , really fast.)

[brdsl]

Jun 3, 2011 11:02:41 GMT -5 zippy478 said:

Jun 2, 2011 18:40:34 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

When do I need to replace my tires? Current recommendations are to replace tires when the tread depth gets down to 4/32 of an inch. The easy way to measure 4/32 is to use a quarter. If you insert George into a groove in the tread head first, part of George's hair line should be obscured by the tread. If you can see all of George's hair line, its time to replace the tires.

Thanks for posting this tip. I was wondering the same thing about my tires and this will help me assess it.

New tires have wear bars. They go across the tread pattern and show a flat line when the tires are too low on tread. No more penny, quarter, nickel, etc. If they are down to the tread line, they are illegal.

[zippy478]

Jun 3, 2011 12:17:25 GMT -5 brdsl said:

Jun 3, 2011 11:02:41 GMT -5 zippy478 said:

Thanks for posting this tip. I was wondering the same thing about my tires and this will help me assess it.

New tires have wear bars. They go across the tread pattern and show a flat line when the tires are too low on tread. No more penny, quarter, nickel, etc. If they are down to the tread line, they are illegal.

Aawww crap....I'm seeing that bar...so long $600-ish within the month. Sigh.

Not that I didn't know this or semi-prepare for it - I just don't like spending money on car maintenance. It's one of those necessary evils. BUT I will spend what I need to in order to make sure my car is safe so no flame throwing please that I'm going to cheap out on my car maintenance....

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2011 12:58:50 GMT -5 zippy478 said:

Jun 3, 2011 12:17:25 GMT -5 brdsl said:

New tires have wear bars. They go across the tread pattern and show a flat line when the tires are too low on tread. No more penny, quarter, nickel, etc. If they are down to the tread line, they are illegal.

Aawww crap....I'm seeing that bar...so long $600-ish within the month. Sigh.

Not that I didn't know this or semi-prepare for it - I just don't like spending money on car maintenance. It's one of those necessary evils. BUT I will spend what I need to in order to make sure my car is safe so no flame throwing please that I'm going to cheap out on my car maintenance....

Another benefit of small cars. I just replaced the tires on our 95 Tercel for $280 and the 2000 Prizm for $330. Good to go for another 60K miles.

The truck I just sold was between $800-$900 every time it needed tires.

[tskeeter]

New tires have wear bars. They go across the tread pattern and show a flat line when the tires are too low on tread. No more penny, quarter, nickel, etc. If they are down to the tread line, they are illegal.

brsl, you're right about the wear bars. They do indicate that the tire is worn out. According to my research, wear bars are 2/32 of an inch high. If you're able to see obvious wear bars on your tires, the tread depth is half of the recommended tread depth (4/32 of an inch). That puts you at risk from loss of control by hydroplaning during rain and makes driving in snow a real challenge. Bottom line, if you can easily see the wear bars on your tires, you're past the point of needing new tires.

[domeasingold]

When they're flat!